Fanning the SVU flames

Ice-t Is Leaving. For Real., Ice-T will be Replaced by Adam Beach.This all sounds so strange. Not that I'm doubting the veracity of the article, but 1) why would NBC sign an actor to a 6 year deal for a series that only got renewed for 1 season? and 2) why announce that he's replacing Fin when it was Fin that they paired the newbie up with?Comment:  1) Because SVU is popular and Law & Order series can go on for years. 2) It's a passing-of-the torch thing. It's often how shows introduce replacement characters.

And don't forget the flirtation between the Chester and Casey characters. Why add that scene if Beach isn't going to become a regular and romance her? That's strong evidence that he'll be back.What also is interesting is that this is the only newspaper that's making these statements. Variety, the industry newspaper, only reported on Thursday that Beach was in talks to become a regular, yet this other paper reports that he's signed for 6 years and is replacing a long-time character. Something just doesn't jive. It could be that Variety's falling down on the job, but that would surprise me.Comment:  What can I say? I heard it from a friend who overheard it from Adam himself. Since it didn't seem to be a secret, I reported it.

Since I didn't hear it myself, I can't swear that it's true. (Of course, it might be false even if I had heard it myself.) If it doesn't turn out to be true, I'll apologize to the thousands of fans I've riled up.

Oh, and this is a blog, not a newspaper. Don't be fooled by the catchy "Newspaper Rock" title.

Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit in the MediaHe probably makes less that 100,000 and episode since there are like 23-24 episodes a season. It's like 85,000 an episode if he is in all of them. Anyway 100,000 an episode for someone with oscar buzz on an established show does not seem like a heck of a lot on money.Comment:  Exactly. But the news appears to be official. Here's the report from Variety:

Beach joins 'Law & Order: SVU'

Actor to become regular on hit NBC showBeach, who had a guest turn as Brooklyn detective Chester Lake on an episode of the skein that aired Tuesday, is in final talks to become a series regular. He's expected to return later this season.

"SVU" creator Dick Wolf first worked with Beach on "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," the HBO telepic Wolf produced. Beach has the lead role in the project, which is expected to debut in May and is already being considered one of the paybox's key longform Emmy contenders.Comment:  Not that it matters, but I believe I was the first to break the news. At least in the blogosphere, where rumors matter.

Another Beach rumor:  Adam is becoming friends with Forest Whitaker and spent New Year's Eve with him.